THE  NEED  OF  MORE  MED¬ 
ICAL  REFERENCE-LIBRA¬ 
RIES,  AND  THE  WAY  IN 
WHICH  THEY  CAN  BE 
ESTABLISHED. 


BY 

REUBEN  PETERSON,  A.B.,  M.D. 


REPRINT  FROM 

American  Medico=Surgical  Bulletin, 

September  15,  1895. 


TO  CONTRIBUTORS. 


Contributions  of  Original  Thought  and  Experiences,  on  Medical 
Surgical  Topics,  are  desired  by  the  AMERICAN  MEDICO-SURGICAL  BULLF 
on  the  following  conditions :  ^  4  ,, 

3  .—Authors  of  Scientific  Papers  or  Clinical  Reports  accepted  by  us  wi ] 
receive— according  to  their  own  preference  expressed  with  each  communication 

a  .-—A  number  of  Reprints  of  their  article  in  neat  pamphlet  form  (pock« 

eize),  ^^_Ingtea(j  0f  above,  an  Equivalent  value  therefor  in  Cash. 

2.— All  contributions  are  received  only  on  the  express  understanding: 
a: _ That  they  have  not  been  printed  anywhere,  nor  communicated  t 

any  oth^Journal.they  have  been  read  anyWhere  to  an  audience, this  fact! 
stated  in  full  detail  by  a  note  on  the  manuscript. 


Contributors  will  serve  their  own  interest  by  heeding  the  following  suggestions 


Write  Concisely  and  Clearly. 


What  we  desire  to  print,  and  what  professional  men  like  to  read,  is  informatio 
not  verbiage.  An  article  will  stand  better  chances  of  acceptance,  and  of  being  wide 
read  and  copied  and  discussed,  the  fewer  its  words  are,  in  proportion  to  the  facts 
ideas  it  embodies.  Of  course,  a  thought  too  thinly  clad  must  suffer.  Use,  therefoi 
cheerfully,  as  many  words  as  appear  needed  to  convey  your  meaning, — but  no  more. 


Aim  at  Fact. 

Jt  is  not  to  be  expected  that  every  Medical  or  Surgical  paper  should  be  a  me 
array  of  statistical  data,  hospital  records,  tabulated  figures,  or  graphic  summarie 
some  room  must  be  allowed  to  theory,  or  even  conjecture,  in  its  proper  place ;  but  tl 
true  aim  of  theory  should  never  be  left  out  of  sight, — which  is,  to  lead  to  met; 
rule  or  result  of  practice.— And  it  should  be  likewise  borne  in  mind  that  the  R< 
will  attach  little  weight  to  mere  generalizing  statements  (such  as,  chat  a  certain  rei 
ody  procedure,  or  line  of  treatment  has  uniformly  proved  successful,  etc.);— to 
convinced,  he  wants  to  see  positive  evidences  recorded  in  clinical  detail  of  cases:  co 
ditions  found,  courses  pursued,  and  results  achieved* 


Do  Not  Fear, 

nowever,  that  a  communication  you  may  be  inclined  to  make  would  be  devoid  oi  val 
because  you  have  but  little  time  to  spend  on  writing  it!  If  your  thought  be  a  go 
one  to  yourself  and  for  your  patients’  benefit,  it  will  be  equally  so  to  your  coieagi 
and  their  practice,  and  will  be  worth  communicating.  It  need  not  come  in  tne  ga 
of  an  elaborate  Scientific  treatise ;  a  simple  “Letter  to  the  Editor  will  often  beji 
as  acceptable. 


Some  Rules  of  Order  we  should  bke  to  have  our  esteemed  Contribul 


comply  with 

Do  not  write  on  both  sides  of  the  sheet.  . 

Write  as  legibly  as  you  conveniently  can  ( names  especially  so). 

Leave  a  liberal  margin  on  the  sheet,  or  space  between  the  lines.  (  U 
writing  is  not  conducive  to  correct  typography :  and  what  you  save 
writing  material  has  to  be  expended  a  thousand-iold  by  us  in  eyesig 
labor,  and  expense  for  printer’s  corrections.) 


Address  P  O.  Box,  2535 
New  York  Citv. 


Editor  Ameren  Medico-Surgical  Bulle 


c>  ^  ^ 

vT  rr* 


THE  NEED  OF  MODE  MEDICAL  REFERENCE- 
LIBRARIES,  AND  THE  WAY  IN  WHICH 
THEY- CAN  BE  ESTABLISHED.* 

By  REUBEN  PETERSON,  A.B.,  M.D. 

rHIS  paper  has  been  undertaken 
with  the  idea  to  point  out  the  need 
of  more  medical  libraries,  and  to 
suggest  some  plan  whereby  they 
can  be  established.  That  there  exists  the 
need  of  writing  such  a  paper,  can  be  seen 
by  any  one  who,  undertaking  the  establish- 
a  ment  of  a  medical  library,  seeks  to  discover 
the  published  records  of  similar  attempts 
-  which  have  been  made  in  the  past. 

The  natural  desire  of  whoever  sits  down 
■  >  to  write  upon  a  medical  subject  is  to  have  a 
^  clear  and  distinct  idea  of  what  others  have 
thought  and  written  upon  the  same  subject, 
a  Whether  he  will  be  able  to  obtain  the  lit- 
<:  erature  necessary  to  the  gratification  of  his 
desire  will  obviously  depend  upon  the  geo¬ 
graphical  location  of  the  writer.  If  he  re¬ 
sides  in  one  of  our  larger  cities,  he  has:  at  his 
command  the  contents  of  the  large  medical 
libraries,  and  his  study  of  the  past  and  pres¬ 
ent  literature  of  a  given  subject  can  be 
carried  on  with  great  completeness.  But 
how  different  is  the  case,  if  by  chance  his 
lines  have  fallen  in  a  smaller  city  or  town! 
He  may  be,  and  probably  is,  possessed  with 

*Read  before  the  American  Academy  of  Medi¬ 
cine,  Baltimore,  May  5,  1895. 

I 

p 15iu9 


the  same  desire  to  get  at  the  bottom  of  any 
subject  he  is  interested  in  or  upon  which 
he  is  endeavoring  to  express  his  views,  but 
he  is  continually  thwarted  by  his  inability 
to  secure  the  books,  pamphlets,  and  articles 
which  have  appeared  upon  the  same  topic 
from  the  pen  of  others.  The  resident  of  the 
smaller  town  is  thus  more  or  less  handi¬ 
capped.  The  lack  of  adequate  library  fa¬ 
cilities  removes  the  incentive  to  thorough 
and  accurate  work,  and  may  prove  a  power¬ 
ful  factor  in  preventing  the  highest  intel¬ 
lectual  development  of  the  medical  practi¬ 
tioner.  Medical  literature  is  unlike  that  of 
any  other  department  in  science,  in  that  its 
most  valuable  contributions  are  scattered 
through  the  different  journals  devoted  to 
medicine.  The  number  of  these, .journals 
has  assumed  such  large  proportions  that  it 
is  impossible  for  one  single  person  to  sub¬ 
scribe  for  those  even  of  real  value.  He 
must  content  himself,  therefore,  with  some 
of  the  standard  journals,  and  possibly  one  or 
more  of  the  minor  periodicals  for  the  sake 
of  the  local  matter  they  may  contain.  Even 
should  his  subscription  list  comprise  some 
dozen  or  more  journals,  he  is  but  poorly 
equipped  for  exact  literary  work.  Except 
in  occasional  instances,  it  is  impossible  for 
him  to  complete  the  files  of  the  journals  that 
come  regularly  to  his  office.  Even  should 
he  be  of  a  systematic  turn,  of  mind,  and  file 
away  the  different  numbers  as  fast  as  they 
have  been  looked  over,  he  will  find  that  he 
is  an  exception  to  the  general  rule  in  this 
regard  if  he  seeks  to  obtain  the  references  to 
the  journals  not  on  his  list  from  those  in  the 
possession  of  his  professional  friends.  The 


majority  of  physicians  do  not  preserve  their 
journals,  but  cast  them  aside  when  through 
with  them.  They  are  thrown  into  a  closet, 
and  there  remain  until  the  accumulation  is 
either  burned  or  sold  for  old  paper. 

Again,  the  best  physicians  of  ia  town 
will  be  found  to  be  subscribers  to  nearly  the 
same  journals.  The  local  State  or  county 
medical  journals  will  be  among  the  number, 
and  then  will  appear  the  standard  American 
journals,  with  an  occasional  British  or  for¬ 
eign  periodical,  for  outside  the  large  cities 
and  towns  there  will  be  found  but  very  few 
foreign  journals.  Hence,  if  all  the  medical 
literature  within  a  certain  district  could  be 
collected,  while  the  total  amount  would  as¬ 
sume  large  proportions,  the  variety  would 
be  meager.  But  let  us  suppose  that  there 
does  exist  a  town  where  the  different  jour¬ 
nals  are  never  lost,  but  are  carefully  pre¬ 
served  in  volumes,  and  that  the  seeker  after 
knowledge  is  possessed  of  the  perseverance 
to  ask  for  and  obtain  the  privilege  of  con¬ 
sulting  his  neighbor's  files,  where  will  he 
obtain  access  to  the  various  large  indices  to 
medical  literature?  Very  few  are  the  pri¬ 
vate  individuals  who  possess  files  of  the  “In¬ 
dex  Catalogue"  and  “Index  Medicus,”  and 
without  these  it  is  almost  impossible  to  com¬ 
plete  the  bibliography  of  any  subject. 

I  think  that  possibly  those  who  enjoy  the 
benefits  of  a  large  library  sometimes  fail  to 
appreciate  their  advantages,  and  do  not 
realize  the  annoyances  to  which  their  less 
fortunately  situated  brethren  are  subjected. 
I  feel  certain  that  the  latter  will  readily 
agree  with  the  previous  statements,  and  will 
eagerly  adopt  any  plan  which  will  provide 

3 


them  with  greater  facilities  for  pursuing 
their  literary  and  scientific  researches. 

But  first  let  us  consider  the  advantages 
which  will  be  derived  from  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  a  medical  reference-library. 

i.  A  large  number  of  medical  works  can 
be  collected  under  one  roof,  and  by  being 
accessible  and  well  indexed,  will  be  the 
means  of  saving  to  the  busy  practitioner 
both  time  and  labor. 

2.  More  volumes  can  be  obta  ned  through 
the  means  of  a  library  than  by  the  most 
strenuous  efforts  of  private  individuals. 
The  physicians’  residing  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  library  will  readily  respond 
to  requests  for  books  and  medical  journals, 
and  will  turn  them  into  the  common  fund. 
In  this  way  large  numbers  of  duplicates  will 
be  collected,  which  can  be  used  in  exchange 
with  other  libraries  to  complete  the  files  of 
the  journals. 

3.  A  large  list  of  the  current  periodicals 
can  be  secured.  In  this  way  the  physician 
can  have  access  to  one  hundred  or  more  in¬ 
stead  of  six  or  eight  journals.  This  will 
prove  a  great  saving  of  the  hard-earned  dol¬ 
lars  of  the  members  of  the  profession,  for  a 
great  many  of  the  journals  are  taken  merely 
for  reference.  Two  of  these  journals  will 
suffice  for  one's  general  reading,  if  there  be 
at  hand  others  which  can  be  glanced 
through  or  consulted  for  special  topics.  I 
am  convinced  that  the  average  physician  in 
good  practice  takes  more  journals  than  he 
can  read.  I  have  seen  more  than  one  of¬ 
fice  where  the  table  was  covered  with  jour¬ 
nals  whose  wrappers  had  not  been  removed. 


4 


This  is  a  sad  waste  of  money,  which  might 
be  expended  to  far  better  advantage.  . 

4.  When  the  library  is  once  organized  it 
will  be  found  that  75  per  cent,  of  the  ma¬ 
terial,  which  is  continually  accumulating, 
comes  from  donations.  These  will  be  made 
to  a  library  organized  upon  the  right  prin¬ 
ciples,  when  they  would  be  refused,  or  not 
even  considered,  were  the  request  made  by 
a  private  individual.  This  is  a  great  gain 
to  the  physicians  having  access  to  the  gifts, 
while  only  a  small  tax  upon  the  means  of 
each  donator. 

5.  Such  a  library  as  we  have  been  consid¬ 
ering  will  prove  a  powerful  factor  in  edu¬ 
cating  the  members  of  the  medical  profes¬ 
sion.  It  will  act  as  an  incentive  and  stimu¬ 
lus  to  accurate  and  exhaustive  literary  re¬ 
searches.  As  the  library  is  more  and  more 
used,  we  shall  see  less  frequently  in  the 
columns  of  the  medical  journals  the  ac¬ 
counts  of  original  discoveries;  but  half  an 
hour  spent  among  the  volumes  in  the  li¬ 
brary  would  have  shown  the  author  of  the 
article  that  his  so-called  discovery  had  been 
well  known  to  the  medical  profession  for  at 
least  twenty-five  years.  There  would  be 
fewer  worthless  articles  inflicted  upon  the 
unprotected  public. 

I  think  that  I  cannot,  in  the  time  at  my 
disposal,  better  illustrate  the  plan  upon 
which  a  medical  library  may  be  established 
than  by  giving  a  brief  history  of  a  medical- 
library  association  which  has  recently 
been  organized  in  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 
I  do  this  all  the  more  willingly,  because  I 
know  from  the  letters  I  have  received  as  sec¬ 
retary  of  the  association  that  the  need  of 


better  library  facilities  is  felt  by  many  phy¬ 
sicians  outside  of  the  large  cities,  and  that 
they  need  only  the  proof  of  the  practica¬ 
bility  of  some  plan,  to  take  immediate  steps 
toward  its  adoption.  The  plan  about  to  be 
described  may  have  to  be  changed  some¬ 
what  to  meet  the  repuirements  of  the  in¬ 
dividual  case,  but  I  believe  it  will  be  found 
to  be  fundamentally  sound  and  worthy  of 
consideration. 

Grand  Rapids  is  the  second  largest  city 
in  Michigan,  having  a  population  of  about 
85,000,  and  about  150  physicians.  All  of 
the  so-called  schools  of  medicine  are  rep¬ 
resented,  and  one  of  the  first  questions  to 
arise  was  whether  a  medical  library  should 
be  supported  by,  and  its  readers  confined 
to,  the  members  of  the  regular  profession, 
or  whether  it  should  be  established  upon 
the  principle  that  it  was  to  be  a  storehouse 
of  knowledge  and  should  be  free  to  all  who 
should  contribute  to  its  support.  This  is 
an  important  question  to  be  settled,  and  the 
future  success  of  any  library  will  depend 
largely,  I  feel  sure,  upon  the  wisdom  that 
is  manifested  in  dealing  with  this  problem. 
Whatever  may  be  a  man’s  opinion  in  regard 
to  the  ethical  question  of  consulting  with 
the  adherents  of  systems  of  medicine,  I  can¬ 
not  see  why  any  objection  should  be  raised 
to  the  association  of  men  who,  while  they 
may  think  differently  upon  medical  matters, 
still  desire  to  pool  issues  for  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  a  library,  which  will  be  a  means 
toward  the  better  education  and  advance¬ 
ment  of  all.  But  inasmuch  as  the  library 
should  be  for  the  greatest  good  to  the  great¬ 
est  number,  if  the  feeling  among  the  phy- 

6 


sicians  of  the  community  be  so  strong 
against  admitting  those  who  are  not  regular, 
that  the  adoption  of  any  such  plan  would 
lead  to  lack  of  support  from  a  considerable 
number,  then  it  would  be  best,  perhaps,  to 
limit  its  membership  to  the  members  of  the 
regular  profession.  If  this  course  be  taken, 
however,  there  will  be  great  danger  of  fail¬ 
ing  to  obtain  the  support  of  the  public. 
The  people  have  looked  on  at  the  struggle 
to  crush  out  homeopathy  for  many  years 
now,  and,  according  to  my  experience,  their 
judgment  to-day  is  that  it  is  a  doctor’s  quar¬ 
rel,  and  their  sympathies,  if  they  have  any, 
are  always  with  the  adherents  of  sectarian¬ 
ism.  They  could  not  be  brought  to  see 
why  any  respectable  person,  who  so  desires, 
and  will  contribute  to  its  support,  should 
not  have  access  to  the  library. 

The  plan  upon  which  the  Grand  Rapids 
Medical-Library  Association  was  founded  is 
that  membership  is  open  to  all  persons  of 
respectability  who  comply  with  the  condi¬ 
tions.  The  constitution  provides  that  there 
shall  be  active,  life,  honorary,  non-resident, 
and  associate  members. 

Active  members  comprise  those  who  re¬ 
side  in  the  city,  and  who  belong  to  either 
of  the  professions  of  medicine,  dentistry,  or 
pharmacy.  The  annual  dues  are  ten  dol¬ 
lars. 

Life  members  are  those  who  pay  into  the 
treasury  one  hundred  dollars  or  more  at  one 
time. 

Non-resident  physicians  who  desire  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  privileges  of  the  li¬ 
brary,  can  become  members  on  the  payment 
of  five  dollars  per  year. 


7 


Associate  members  also  pay  five  dollars 
per  year.  They  make  no  use  of  the  library, 
as  a  rule,  but  have  enrolled  themselves  be¬ 
cause  of  their  desire  to  help  a  worthy  inr 
stitution. 

The  public  must  be  made  to  understand 
that  it  is  for  their  interest,  and  not  solely 
for  the  advantage  of  the  profession,  that  a 
medical  library  should  be  established.  They 
should  be  expected  to  render  substantial- 
aid  to  such  an  institution  just  as  they  are  ex¬ 
pected  to  contribute  toward  the  support  of 
other  scientific  undertakings.  Physicians 
as  a  class  are  poor,  and  have  a  hard 
struggle  for  existence.  Only  in  the  large 
cities,  as  a  rule,  do  we  find  men  of  sufficient 
means  to  give  more  than  their  pro  rata  to¬ 
ward  the  support  of  the  library.  Donations 
may  be  looked  for  from  various  sources, 
however,  when  the  purposes  of  the  library 
are  set  forth  plainly  before  the  public. 

The  library  association  whose  history 
we  are  now  considering  was  organized  in 
October,  1894.  A  paper  containing  a  state¬ 
ment  of  the  plan  of  organization  was  circu¬ 
lated  among  the  physicians,  dentists,  and 
pharmacists,  and  was  signed  by  enough  to 
show  the  desire  for  such  an  institution.  A 
meeting  was  then  called,  and  the  organiza¬ 
tion  of  the  association  perfected.  Arrange¬ 
ments  were  made  by  which  the  regular  city 
medical  society  subleased  the  library  rooms 
for  their  regular  semi-monthly  meetings, 
and  the  local  dental  society  were  to  use  the 
rooms  once  a  month.  The  rent  is  thus  re¬ 
duced  to  a  minimum.  For  the  convenience 
of  those  who  desire  to  consult  this  article 
for  the  purpose  of  gathering  information 

8 


whereby  other  medical  libraries  may  be 
established,  I  shall  append  a  statement  of 
the  essential  details,  and  I  shall  only  state 
in  a  general  way  what  has  been  accom¬ 
plished  during  the  first  six  months  of  the 
library's  existence.  The  membership  list 
comprises  fifty-five  active,  six  non-resident, 
and  fifteen  associate  members.  Starting 
without  a  book  or  journal,  the  library  pos¬ 
sesses  some  2000  books  and  bound  jour¬ 
nals.  These  have  been  acquired  in  various 
ways — from  contributions  from  the  private 
libraries  of  members  and  others  interested 
in  the  library,  and  by  donations  from  pub¬ 
lishing-houses  and  national  and  State  so¬ 
cieties.  Journals  have  literally  poured  into 
the  library,  and  the  files  of  the  standard 
periodicals  are  rapidly  being  completed 
through  exchanges  with  and  contributions 
from  other  libraries.  Through  a  generous 
donation  of  money  for  the  purpose,  com¬ 
plete  sets  of  the  “Index  Medicus”  and  “In¬ 
dex  Catalogue"  have  been  obtained.  Vol¬ 
umes  from  private  libraries  have  been  do¬ 
nated  conditional  to  their  being  properly 
indexed  and  cared  for.  This  provision  was 
found  to  be  necessary  for  the  reason  that 
members  hesitated  to  part  with  their  books 
unless  the  library  was  to  be  a  permanent 
organization.  In  other  words,  they  are 
willing  to  make  donations  if  the  proper  use 
were  made  of  the  gifts. 

The  list  of  current  periodicals  comprises 
over  ioo  journals  and  transactions.  There 
are  but  very  few  foreign  journals  outside  of 
those  printed  in  the  English  language.  In 
making  up  the  subscription  list  care  must 
be  exercised  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  libra- 


9 


ry  association.  At  the  same  time,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  money  should  be  expended 
for  journals  of  real  merit,  which  are  not  so 
liable  to  be  met  with  in  the  physician’s  of¬ 
fice.  Yet,  where  but  a  few  members  read 
French  or  German,  it  is  obviously  unfair  to 
subscribe  for  many  journals  in  either  of 
these  languages,  however  valuable  they  may 
be  for  reference.  It  would  seem  best  to 
subscribe,  at  first,  for  as  many  American 
and  British  journals  as  the  funds  of  the  li¬ 
brary  will  allow,  and  to  subscribe  later  fo  ~  the 
foreign  journals,  as  the  standard  of  educa¬ 
tion  of  the.  users  of  the  library  be  raised. 
Each  community  will  present  peculiar  con¬ 
ditions  which  must  be  carefully  considered, 
and  the  success  of  the  library  will  largely 
depend  upon  the  good  judgment  displayed 
in  settling  the  various  problems  which  may 
arise.  The  greatest  stumbling-block  will  be 
found  to  be  the  lack  of  funds,  but  that  this 
can  be  overcome  by  persistent  and  energetic 
work,  will  be  seen  by  glancing  over  the  ap¬ 
pended  report  of  one  institution.  The  dif¬ 
ference  between  a  medical  library  and  other 
libraries  is  that,  as  before  stated,  fully  75 
per  cent,  of  its  possessions  can  be  obtained 
free  of  charge  by  courteously  worded  re¬ 
quests.  And  upon  this  fact  must  the  li¬ 
brary  rely  for  the  first  few  years  of  its  ex¬ 
istence,  for  nearly  its  entire  income  will  have 
to  be  used  in  meeting  the  running  expenses. 
Not  one  dollar  has  been  expended  in  the 
direct  purchase  of  a  book,  yet  the  Grand 
Rapids  library  has  now  2000  bound  vol¬ 
umes,  and  all  acquired  since  October  last. 

The  reason  for  the  failure  of  quite  a  ntim- 


10 


ber  of  similar  undertakings  has  lain  in  the 
fact,  it  would  seem  to  me,  that  no  provision 
has  been  made  to  secure  the  services  of  a 
librarian  who  should  give  up  his  or  her 
whole  time  to  the  work.  Some  one  must 
do  the  work,  and  what  is  every  one’s  duty 
is  no  one’s,  and  the;  result  is  that  witli3Ut 
a  librarian  the  books  are  lost,  and  the  dust 
accumulates  on  those  that  remain.  In  or¬ 
der  that  the  library  may  be  a  success,  it 
must  be  so  arranged  that  it  will  be  of  use 
to  the  members.  You  cannot  make  a  stu¬ 
dent  of  every  one,  but  the  fact  that  a  few 
men  are  making  use  of  the  library  will  act 
as  an  example  and  incentive  to  others. 
Reading-clubs  can  be  organized  in  con¬ 
nection  with  it,  and  ambition  be  kindled  in 
the  minds  of  the  younger  men  at  least. 

Opposition  will  be  met  with.  It  will  be 
claimed  that  the  library  is  maintained  for 
the  use  of  a  few;  that  its  officers  are  reaping 
the  benefits;  that  it  is  of  very  little  value, 
and  its  shelves  are  mostly  filled  with  worth¬ 
less  volumes,  but  such  utterances  are  not 
alone  used  against  medical  libraries.  They 
are  characteristic,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  of  some 
of  the  members  of  our  profession,  who  not 
only  fail  to  progress,  but  bitterly  oppose  any 
signs  of  progression  in  others.  This  class 
may  have  considerable  influence  for  a  time, 
and  their  opposition  may  be  a  cause  of 
much  annoyance,  but  they  must  be  dealt 
with  tactfully,  and  in  time  will  be  made  to 
see  that  they  have  been  in  the  wrong. 

The  unanswerable  argument  to  all  this 
criticism  is  that  the  privileges  of  the  library 
are  at  the  disposal  of  all  who  seek  to  avail 
themselves  of  them.  If  a  man  will  not,  then 


he  will  not,  and  no  one  is  to  blame  but  him¬ 
self. 

It  may  be  well  to  state  that,  adopting  the 
plan  of  the  Boston  Medical-Library  Asso¬ 
ciation,  a  Directory  for  Nurses  has  been 
established  in  connection  with  the  library. 
This  has  proved  a  highly  successful  under¬ 
taking,  and  is  of  value  to  the  public,  the 
profession,  and  the  nurses.  While  it  has 
not  been  a  source  of  income  to  the  library, 
it  has  from  the  start  been  self-supporting, 
and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  in 
time  it  may  be  more  than  this. 

In  order  that  the  aims,  purposes,  and 
needs  of  the  association  might  be  made 
known  to  the  profession  and  to  the  public, 
certain  distinguished  men  have  been  invited 
to  read  papers  at  its  regular  monthly  meet¬ 
ings.  Invitations  to  these  meetings  were 
sent  not  only  to  members  of  the  association, 
but  to  all  respectable  physicians  within  the 
city  and  in  the  neighboring  towns.  The 
meetings  have  been  largely  attended,  and 
have  been  highly  interesting  and  instruc¬ 
tive. 

In  conclusion,  I  will  say  that  in  the  time 
assigned  to  each  reader,  it  is  impossible  to 
do  justice  to  all  the  important  matters  con¬ 
nected  with  this  subject.  In  my  opinion  the 
subject  of  medical  libraries  is  one  of  great 
importance,  and  one  worthy  of  the  most 
careful  consideration  by  members  of  the 
Academy.  If  these  institutions  can  be 
established  throughout  the  country,  they 
will  prove  to  be  powerful  instruments  in  the 
settlement  of  the  very  questions  with  which 
this  society  is  grappling.  The  members  of 
the  medical  profession  must  be  educated, 


12 


not  merely  in  the  medical  schools,  but  in 
after-life  as  well.  The  establishment  of 
medical  libraries  may  not  be  the  only  way, 
but  it  is  one  of  the  ways.  I  wish  to 
take  this  opportunity  of  saying  that  the  as¬ 
sociation  of  which  I  have  spoken  is  under 
deep  obligations  to  Dr.  Bayard  Holmes  for 
his  many  practical  suggestions  as  to  the  best 
plan  upon  which  a  medical  library  should 
be  established. 


Appendix. 

Receipts  from  Oct.  1,  1894,  to  Oct.  1,  1895. 
Annual  dues,  55  active  members,  at  $10. $550.00 


Annual  dues,  6  non-resident  members,  at 

$5 .  80.00 

Annual  dues,  15  associate  members,  at  $5  70.00 

Prom  private  donation .  200.00 

Prom  rent  of  rooms  to  societies  for  one 
year . 125.00 


$980.00 


Expenditures. 


Rent  of  library  rooms  for  one  year . $200.00 

Furniture .  80.00 

Librarian’s  salary,  52  weeks,  at  $4  per 

week .  208.00 

Subscriptions  to  current  journals . 162.00 

Purchase  of  “Index  Catalogue”  and  “In¬ 
dex  Medicus”. .  100.00 

Card-catalogue  outfit .  85.00 

Shelving .  85.00 

Expressage  and  stamps .  80.00 

Insurance . 20.00 

Lighting .  20.00 

Incidentals  .  80.00 


$980.00 

The  above  will  give  an  approximate  idea 
of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  for  the  cur¬ 
rent  year,  and  will  form  a  basis  for  calcula¬ 
tion.  It  may  be  urged  that  the  donation  of 
$2oo  cannot  be  expected  every  year,  but,  on 


13 


the  other  hand,  it  will  be  seen  that  some  of 
the  expenditures  were  incidental  to  the 
library’s  first  year,  such  as  furniture,  pur¬ 
chase  of  “Index  Medicus”  and  “Index  Cata¬ 
logue/'  card  catalogue,  etc. 

The  above  is  not  given  as  an  example 
to  be  blindly  followed,  but  simply  with  the 
view  to  form  a  basis  from  which  a  plan  can 
be  formulated  to  suit  the  exigencies  of  the 
case.  It  will,  moreover,  demonstrate  the 
practicability  of  maintaining  a  library  by 
the  methods  employed. 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 


14 


SUBSCRIPTION  ORDER. 


3>cUe-  of  &zdax, _ _ 189 


IGHTH  YEAR. 


American  53  00  Der  year 


Medico=Surgical  Bulletin 

SEMI-MONTHLY  JOURNAL  OF  PRACTICE  AND  SCIENCE. 

Issued  on  the  ist  and  15th  of  each  month. 

HE  BULLETIN  PUBLISHING  COMPANY,  73  William  Street,  N.Y. 


The  BULLETIN  is  the  only  journal  that  publishes  regularly  complete  reports  of 
Ithe  meetings  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine  and  its  ten  Special  Sections, 
e  BULLETIN  is  also  the  Official  Organ  of  the  Sections  on  Orthopedic  Surgery, 
d  on  Laryngology  and  Rhinology. 


Editorial  Staff. 


LLIAM  HENRY  PORTER,  M.D., 
Chief  Editor. 

WILLIAM  C.  GLTH,  M.D., 
Pathology  and  General  Medicine. 

If  SAMUEL  LLOYD,  M.D., 
Surgery. 

H  ADOLPH  ZEH,  M.D., 
Pathology  and  General  Medicine. 


FREDERICK  PETERSON,  M.D., 
Associate  Editor. 

T.S.  SOUTH  WORTH,  M.D., 
Obstetrics,  Gynecology,  Pediatrics. 
WILLIAM  FANKHAUSER,  M.D., 
Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics. 
LEWIS  A.  CONNER,  M.D., 

Neurology. 


:ORGE  G.  VAN  SCHAICK,  M.D.,  ALBERT  WARREN  FERRIS,  M.D., 


Pathology  and  Clinical  Medicine 
W.  TRAVIS  GIBB,  M.D., 
Gynecology. 

LLIAM  OLIVER  MOORE,  M.D. 
^Ophthalmology  and  Otology. 
ADOLPH  BARON,  M.D., 
Diseases  of  Children. 
WILLIAM  VISSMAN,  M.D., 
Pathology  and  Bacteriology. 

T.  HALSTED  MYERS.  M.D., 
Orthopedic  Surgery. 

)RGE  THOMAS  TACKSON,  M.D 
Dermatology, 

WILLIAM  B.  COLEY,  M.D., 

;  General  Surgery. 

JAMES  E.  NEWCOMB,  M.D., 
Laryngology. 

EORGE  K.  SWINBURNE.  M.D., 
Genito-Urinary  Surgery. 
HENRY  T.  BROOKS,  M.D., 
Bacteriology. 

N  WINTERS  BRANNAN,  M.D, 
Neurology  and  Psychiatry. 

IRA  VAN  GIESON.  M.D., 
Pathology  of  Nervous  System. 


Neurology. 

PEARCE  BAILEY,  M.D., 
Neurology. 

•  MORTON  R.  PECK,  M.D., 
Neurology. 

LOUIS  HEITZMANN,  M.D., 
General  Medicine  and  Pathology. 
DANIEL  B.  HARDENBERGH,  M.D., 
Obstetrics  and  Gynecology. 
OTTO  H.  SCHULTZE,  M.D., 
Obstetrics  and  Gynecology. 

,  JOHN  HOCH,  M.D., 

General  Medicine. 

HOWELL  T.  PERSHING,  M.D., 
Neurology. 

THOMAS  PECK  PROUT,  M.D., 
Psychiatry, 

B.  FARQUHAR  CURTIS,  M.D., 
Surgery. 

CHARLES  HENRY  WALKER,  M.D., 
General  Medicine. 

ALBERT  H.  ELY,  M.D., 
Gynecology. 

GEORGE  G.  WARD,  M.D., 
Obstetrics. 


WALTER  A.  DUNCKEL,  M.D., 
Diseases  of  Children. 


